


Unaccepted

by Annablue



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Angst, Blood, Body Horror, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jim's arm AU, You Have Been Warned, this will probably get pretty dark in places
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-01-25 19:03:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21361141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annablue/pseuds/Annablue
Summary: When the Trollhunters of the past reject him, Jim is banished from Trollmarket, down an arm and without a plan. Merlin's amulet still follows him, and with no Trollmarket to fall back on, other forces hunt him. After all, Trollmarket isn't the only place   in need of a champion.
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez, Toby Domzalski & Jim Lake Jr.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

“Behold! The Soothscryer!” Vendle shouted. “It will judge your true spirit.” 

Jim stared up at the massive stone statue that’d sprung from the ground. It towered above him, resembling the head of a giant troll. Red light emanated from the many decorative carvings that encircled it.

“Insert your right hand, Trollhunter.” Vendle instructed. The mouth of the statue dropped open with a thud. Jim stood on his tiptoes, peering into the gaping maw. He gulped at the sight of large stone teeth.

“Um, I’m gonna get it back, right?” Jim asked, his voice jumping an octave.

“That is part of the test.” Vendle said, his lips curling into a sinister smile.

Jim’s shoulders slumped. “Oh, great.” He glanced back at the Soothscryer, giving a small sigh. “Tobes! Come here and help me.”

“Sure thing, Jimbo!” Toby said, jogging over to his friend. “But I am not sticking my hand in that thing.”

Toby bent over, allowing Jim to climb onto his back, getting him eye level with the statues mouthful of sharp teeth. Jim gulped as he heard a small click and the teeth began to rotate like a garbage disposal. He raised his hand, slowly reaching into the Soothscryer.

The mouth snapped closed, trapping Jim’s arm inside. He screamed, kicking off of Toby as he tried to wrench his arm from the stone mouth. 

Jim took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. It didn’t hurt, per se. His arm just trapped in the stone mouth. He steadied himself on Toby’s back, cocking his head curiously at Vendle.

“Is this normal?” Jim asked. Vendle opened his mouth to answer, but cut off as the Soothscryer’s red light turned blue. Jim held his breath, eyes darting around the statue as he searched for the source of the change.

“Jim? Jim, what’s happening?” Toby asked.

“It’s a magic troll statue! How should I know!” Jim pulled at his arm, panic rising. It still wasn’t letting go. 

Blue light shone from every etching, growing brighter and brighter. Jim squeezed his eyes shut against the blinding light. 

The blue turned to deep red, and Jim screamed. The mouth tightened around his arm, crushing his bones like twigs, stone teeth puncturing his skin. 

“Turn it off! How do we turn it off?” Toby yelled. 

“Vendle! Stop it!” Blinky shouted.

“I do not have the means!”

Jim’s legs gave out from under him, leaving him to dangle by his arm as his screams filled the forge. The pressure grew worse and worse, the mouth pressing down harder and harder.

“Get it off! It’s hurting him!”

“It won’t let go!”

“We have to get him away from it!

Arms grabbed him around the middle, trying to pull him away from the Soothscryer. Jim screamed, tears of agony sliding down his cheeks. Blood flowed down Jim’s shoulder, warm and sticky.

“Master Jim’s arm is too damaged! We’ll have to cut it off.”

More arms grabbed Jim around the waist, holding him up against the Soothscryer. Another pair tied a strip of cloth tightly beneath Jim’s shoulder. Through his pain addled brain, it took a second for Jim to realize what they were doing.

“No!” Jim sobbed. He squirmed helplessly, pinned against the scryer. “No, no, no!” 

“I’m so sorry Master Jim.” Blinky’s voice said in his ear. Jim tried to look at him, but he couldn’t focus on his face. The pain, oh god, the pain. His vision was washed in red, the world fuzzy around the edges. He just wanted it to stop. He just wanted the pain to end.

“One, two, three!” 

Jim let out a final scream as he felt a blade slice through his flesh, hitting with enough force to hack clean through the bone. He fell away from the Soothscryer, into ARRRGH!!!’s arms. Jim’s head lolled forward and he caught a glimpse of the clean cut stump where his arm used to be. Blood gushed from the wound, staining ARRRGH!!!’s mane red. He dimly made out Blinky rushing towards him with a hot iron before passing out.


	2. Chapter 2

Jim groaned as he came to. A bright light burning into his eyelids and he whimpered, trying to turn away from the light. He focused on his surroundings as he tried to clear his head. He heard the slow, steady beeping of a heart rate monitor, mixing with garbled voices talking by his side. The smell of antiseptic filled the air.

_Hospital._ Jim thought. _I’m in the hospital. But why?_

The voices talking beside him quieted as Jim stirred, his eyes fluttering weakly.

“Jim! Jim, are you awake?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, growing louder as the person approached. Jim noted the worry laced in the tone as the bright light blotted out above him. A familiar scent wafted down to him as a hand gently stroked his forehead.

Jim opened his mouth, attempting to speak. He gagged as he felt a tube shift slightly in his throat.

“Hold on honey, let me get it out.” The voice soothed. He continued to gag as hands peeled tape off of his face. Jim felt a hand hold his jaw down as the tube was drawn up, a fiery hot line of pain working up his throat. The tube came free and Jim coughed, trying to curl up on his side.

“No, you can’t do that honey. Lay flat, okay?” Hands gently pushed him onto his back before coming up to continue stroking his forehead.

Jim squinted his eyes open, wincing as the light hit his eyes. “Mom?” He croaked.

Barbara let out a watery laugh. “I’m here Jim. You’re going to be okay, alright?”

“What happened?” He slurred, eyes slipping closed again as he leaned into his mom’s touch.

Barbara hesitated. “I’ll tell you later, okay? You need to get some rest.”

Jim’s forced his eyes open again, letting them adjust to the light. His mother came into view, worry and relief warring on her face.

“What’s wrong mom?” Jim asked, shaking off his drowsiness. Tears sparkled in Barbara’s eyes and she pulled back, looking away. “Mom?” Jim said, voice rising.

He tried to reach out, but his arm didn’t move. He scowled. He must have been laying on it weird and cut of circulation. Jim shifted, trying again. It still didn’t move. 

Jim glanced down in annoyance. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the bandaged stump that had replaced his arm. The beeping of the heart monitor picked up pace as memories from Trollmarket flooded in. The Soothscryer, Blinky and Toby trying to pull him free, the excruciating pain as a literal ton of rock crushed down on his arm.

“Jim? Jim!” Barbara was back at his side, tilting his head so he couldn’t see what was left of his arm. “Just look at me. Look right here.” Barbara stroked her thumbs across Jim’s cheeks, holding eye contact as she murmuring small words of comfort. Jim’s pulse slowed, tears slowly beginning to make their way down his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry.” Jim choked. “I’m so sorry mom.”

Barbara wrapped her arms around her son, holding him close. Jim buried his face in his moms hospital scrubs, sobbing. 

“It’s going to be okay.” Barbara soothed. She ran a hand over his hair as she tried to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Jim, someone’s here to see you.” His mom poked her head into the room, giving Jim a wane smile. Jim forced a smile in return.

“Okay.” He said. Barbara’s smile grew as she went to get his guest.

Jim buried his face in his one good hand. He didn’t want to see anyone yet, he wasn’t ready. Jim was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his arm was _gone._ Everything was going to be different now.

“Hey, Jimbo! You’re okay!” 

Jim perked up when Toby entered the room. Maybe not everything would be different. Jim grinned as Toby ran to his side, throwing his arms around Jim.

“Hi Tobes.” Jim said. He tried to wrap his arms around Toby, painfully aware of how his stump shifted as it tried to comply.

Toby pulled back, glancing over Jim. He whistled lowly. “You look awful. How are you holding up?” He said.

Jim laughed weakly. “I feel awful, but it’s not too bad. They’ve got me on Morphine, so I don’t really feel much pain. My joints feel all weird though, like they’re stuffed with cotton.”

“Better than unimaginable pain though, right?”

“Yeah, much better.”

Toby glanced towards the door, lowering his voice. “So, uh, I talked to Blinky.”

“Great.” Jim rolled his eyes. “What does he want now?” 

He knew it wasn’t Blinky’s fault, but he couldn’t help being cross with him. It was Blinky who took him to Trollmarket. It was Blinky who was supposed to watch after him, train him, keep stuff like this from happening.

“Well, first he wanted to tell you how sorry he was.” Toby said. Jim snorted, looking away. “He really did look sorry Jim. I don’t think he wanted this to happen.”

“I know, but… it _did_ happen, and now I have to live the rest of my life with_ this._” Jim said, gesturing to his stump, where his arm had been removed just five inches below his shoulder.

Toby put a hand on Jims good shoulder. “I’m not excusing it, i’m not. I just thought you should know.”

Jim nodded, suppressing a sigh. “What else did he say?”

Toby hesitated a moment. “He said you were banned from Trollmarket.” Toby spit out.

Jim’s eyes widened, remembering the beautiful city of rock and crystal lying just beneath the Arcadia. He’d never get to see it again.

_Why would I want to?_ Jim thought._ If they don’t want me there, so be it._

“Okay. Anything else?” Jim asked.

“One more thing. They’re trying to figure out how to unbind the amulet from you.”

Jim cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“They’re trying to find a way to make you not the Trollhunter, without killing you.” Toby clarified. “Blinky’s going to keep us updated, but he said to be careful. He doesn’t think it’s going to work, and as soon as the other trolls figure that out…” Toby drew a finger across his neck.

Jim shuddered. “Great, now I’ve got to watch my back because some evil trolls might have it out for me. Noted.”

“Don’t worry Jimbo, I’m here to help.” Toby flashed Jim a metal filled grin. “I’ll watch you back.”

“Thanks Tobes.” Jim said, wiping away a tear that’d formed in his eye.

“No problem. Well, I’ve got to get home to Nana. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah. See you later Tobes!” Jim waved as Toby started to leave the room. “Hey, could you cut the light off?” Jim yelled as an afterthought. Toby gave him a thumbs up, flipping the light off as he left, the door clicking shut behind him. 

Jim sighed, attempting to pull the thin hospital blanket up to his shoulder as he laid down in bed. He adjusted the IV line, finally pushing it behind him. He stared out the window. The sky was painted a muted red and gold, turning the buildings and trees to silhouettes as the sun sank below the horizon. Jim sighed closing his eyes.

A bright blue glow permeated the darkness behind Jim’s eyelids as a slow ticking sound filled the room. Jim frowned, peeking an eye open. He bit back a scream as his eyes focused on the amulet now laying mere inches away from his face. 

Jim squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to turn over in bed. He did _not_ have the energy to deal with this tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so i'm back from the dead. I really didn't mean to wait so long to update this, but you know, life happens. Not to mention that i'm doing Daylight December Tumblr, which is a lot of writing. To be honest, I probably won't be able to add another chapter until January, but after that I'm going to try to get on a posting schedule. I have a lot planned for this, so we'll see how that turns out.

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah. This is not going to be a very happy fic. Angst is the name of the game here.


End file.
